State Treasurers are doing to the New York Stock Exchange what the attorneys general did to Microsoft, pinning it down and kicking it hard until it begs for mercy. They’ve had some luck, too.
This could be just the beginning of a very interesting series of negotiations, some of which are certainly being conducted with an eye on the next California governor’s race. The one scheduled to start next year, not next month.
California Treasurer Phil Angelides is leading the charge on much of this public corporate reform stuff. It’s served New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer very well, hasn’t it?
Also on Angelides to-do list? A look at venture capital funds and their long-established habit of keeping their returns private. It’s probably not a coincidence that puts him on a collision course with Silicon Valley’s own Steve Westly. Westly, California’s controller, is also eyeing a run for Davis’ job in ’06.